At Sangrur recently, an elderly man had gifted Mann a bottle of ghee.

Lok Sabha MP Bhagwant Mann speaks to the media during the winter session in Parliament, in New Delhi on December 17, 2018.(Sonu Mehta/HT PHOTO)

Having faced a lot of flak for his drinking habit, Sangrur MP and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Bhagwant Mann on Sunday announced he was becoming a teetotaller for good while his party supremo and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal termed his decision a “great sacrifice” for the people of Punjab and the country.

Addressing a rally at Barnala where Kejriwal said their party will contest from all 13 seats in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, Mann said, “I have taken a vow in the presence of my mother not to drink alcohol for good.”

At Sangrur recently, an elderly man had gifted Mann a bottle of ghee.

“The Shiromani Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party (SAD-BJP) coalition and the ruling Congress are in cahoots to malign my image by portraying me as a born drunkard. They have stooped to the level of showing old videos to defame me. It’s the only fault they find in me. Therefore, I have decided to quit drinking,” Mann said.

“When my mother heard my detractors passing nasty comments against me, she advised me to make another sacrifice by kicking the habit. Now, I want them to answer if they do not consume liquor at all,” Mann said.

Endorsing his decision, Kejriwal said, “No one has made sacrifices for Punjab as Bhagwant Mann has.”